With NRL in league of its own, Fox must make it the world game

Lachlan Murdoch watches NRL when living in the United States. Presumably he will tune in to his Broncos when they meet the Eels on Thursday night, as the NRL becomes the only football competition in the English-speaking world to be shown on TV.

If Fox’s standard programming of the NRL in the US is any guide then Lachlan, the executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation, won’t be viewing it on his own network.

A recent program guide for May 17 advertised 'NRL Rugby' between 3am and 5am on the Fox Soccer Plus channel. The game? The 2016 grand final between Cronulla Sharks and Melbourne Storm.

Live football has been almost non-existent during the pandemic but Fox in the US usually shows only one or two matches a week on the difficult-to-find Fox Soccer Plus, as well as Fox Sports 2.

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Yet the current broadcasting contract between the NRL and Fox Sports obligates the US network to show a minimum of three games a week plus all finals and State of Origin on its terrestrial channels, specifically 'primary sports packages'.

This is not a criticism of Fox Sports Australia, because it sub-licenses the coverage to Fox in the US and Sky in the UK via 'best endeavours' clauses.

The Broncos will restart the NRL season against the Eels on Thursday evening.Credit:AAP

Sky TV in the UK shows approximately three NRL games a week and have announced they will telecast all eight matches of the comeback round.

Hopefully, the resumed NRL competition will be programmed in the US on Fox Sports 1, the main channel, rather than FS2, which is integrated with ESPN for a charge in excess of the basic package, or Fox Soccer Plus, which is included with European soccer and is a less visible channel.

With the US tentatively scheduled to host the 2025 Rugby League World Cup, Fox is not promoting the code as required in the existing broadcasting contract.

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The NRL executives hired to negotiate the 2018-22 broadcasting deal wisely sought exposure in two directions – presenting the game to people who would otherwise not be exposed to it, as well as making it readily available to those who seek it out. Because 'cord-cutting' - cancelling pay TV subscriptions - has been so common in the COVID-19 era, it has been crucial to achieve both.

In terms of rusted-on NRL lovers scattered around the globe, Fox has satisfied them primarily through the development, marketing and delivery of the OTT/streaming paid product of watchNRL.com.

NRL followers in western countries claim watchNRL.com ($US149 or $228 for a season pass) is a quality dedicated streaming product, although NYC bar owners would not dare use it for State of Origin in case an internet failure caused a blank screen and a subsequent walk-out.

Fox have all rights (terrestrial and OTT/digital) in UK and US, plus worldwide streaming rights (excluding the Pacific) via the watchNRL platform.

Fox paid the NRL just under $25 million over five years for the international rights, a near 190 per cent increase on the previous deal.

Gorden Tallis and Lachlan Murdoch locked in discussion in 2004.Credit:Getty

In addition to the watchNRL.com product being globally available, the rest of the world is sublicensed to IMG by Fox.

In past broadcast contracts, IMG enjoyed exclusivity and did not have competition from the high quality Watch NRL app. Now, rather than sell the games to terrestrial TV, with no care as to where they are programmed, IMG is incentivised to do deals which expose the game.

However, developing league countries, like Jamaica and Ghana, reject WatchNRL.com because it prices the game out of the reach of the people playing it. At the same time, the NRL has aggressively had footage removed from YouTube. WatchNRL in developing countries is seen as a money-making venture at the expense of development.

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Jamaica has qualified for the next World Cup and coach Romeo Monteith says, "Only a small percentage of rugby league players in Jamaica watch live NRL games on the app.

"Most of the players cannot afford to maintain a subscription because they are on the minimum wage of $US193 per month, or are students.

"Most times when new players join the sport and I send them to watch games on YouTube, they end up watching union clips and 7s games which are readily available.

"The average player in Jamaica, I would bet, could not name four teams in the NRL or Super League."

NRL acting CEO, Andrew Abdo, says, "We are working with all our partners to make sure the [resumed NRL] game is in front of as many sport-starved fans in the world as possible."